FILE PHOTO: Water vapour rises from residential buildings' autonomous heating systems during a power blackout and freezing temperatures, after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Vladyslav Sodel/File Photo
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine is nearing a "humanitarian catastrophe" after months of Russian airstrikes on energy systems and any future peace deal must include a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure, the head of Ukraine’s largest private power producer said.
Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, said Russia - which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago - had been waging an "energy terror" campaign since October 2025, hitting power stations and overwhelming air‑defence systems.
The capital Kyiv and surrounding regions are among the most affected, authorities say, and Kyiv's mayor urged residents to leave temporarily if they have somewhere else to go.
"We need an energy ceasefire. A ceasefire on the energy assets,” Timchenko said. “How can you talk about peace and (keep) attacking people, and knowing that people are freezing? How can these things go in parallel?”
Ukraine has endured two weeks of temperatures between minus 15 and minus 20 degrees Celsius, he said, with Russia striking gas transportation, storage and production facilities.
Russia says it is targeting military and energy infrastructure used in the interests of Ukraine's armed forces.
"We are close to a humanitarian catastrophe," Timchenko said. "People get power for 3-4 hours, then a 10- to 15-hour break. We have apartment blocks without heat for weeks already."
He said Ukraine was holding on thanks to gas imports, including from the United States, as attacks had forced gas, coal and hydropower plants to run below capacity.
DTEK has lost 60–70% of its generating capacity and suffered damage worth hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.
Timchenko said rebuilding the energy sector would cost $65–70 billion, citing World Bank estimates, and in many cases would require entirely new assets.
"We are talking rather about building a new energy system in Ukraine rather than just reconstruction," he said.
U.S. asset manager BlackRock has emerged in recent days as the main force behind a U.S.-Ukrainian plan to help design a reconstruction plan for the country.
Ukraine must accelerate construction of decentralised generation, said Timchenko, including new solar projects, green parks and storage. Decentralisation means the assets will be more difficult to hit by drones and missiles, he said.
"We cannot count on a peace deal being signed. We need to start preparing today," he said, adding that Ukraine must stock critical equipment and strengthen air defences.
(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Mark Heinrich)
